Even more Mondaiji are appearing in this world, aren't they?
by Shadowplayer360
Summary: The community "No Names" has grown quite a bit since the problem children have arrived. The problem is that they're getting bored, and they aren't content with just helping with the garden, so Kurousagi has agreed to send out a few more invitations to other worlds to find new members. But will they be willing to join up with the "No Names"? *OC APPLICATIONS CLOSED*
1. Gardening, Grieving, and Game Planning

**_This was made for the sake of one reason. "Just because I felt like it". Of course I don't have any plans on how far this will go, so I might jsut give up on this at some point. Anyways, here's the beginning of a Mondaiji fanfiction story..._**

* * *

_**Even more Mondaiji are coming from another world, aren't they?**_

Izayoi Sakamaki, one of the "problem children" of the community "No Names", was lying on the ground of an open field, staring at the sky while frowning. "Man, this is so boring…" he muttered to himself.

Just then, a pair of ears suddenly appeared, followed by blue hair and a face. Kurousagi, one of the first residents of "Little Garden" that greeted him, was staring directly at his face.

"If Izayoi-san is so bored, why not help us make some progress in the garden?" she asked with a frustrated tone. She pointed at the garden of their community, which appeared to be more like a wasteland than a garden.

The residents of "No Names", which were essentially all young children, were spread out within a certain area to work on the fields. A young green-haired boy named Jin, the young leader of the "No Names", was directing the other children on repairing the garden while doing what little he could to also help out.

"Can't you see that Master Jin is working hard to make sure our community "No Names" will be able to thrive like it once did in the past?" The blue-haired rabbit exclaimed. "Even Asuka-san and Yo-san are helping out in the garden!"

Asuka Kudou and Yo Kasukabe, two of the other "problem children" that arrived with Izayoi, were both helping out in their own way. Asuka was using her golem, Dean, to help plow a wider range of the field to replant the garden. Yo was spreading seeds throughout the plowed fields using her "gift" to glide across the area. Izayoi glanced at the scene before sighing.

"That's because there's nothing really interesting going on right now. If there was just some kind of event, then we'd all be gone instead of just waiting around here…"

Kurousagi smacked his head with a paper fan as she started to argue. "No! Asuka-san and Yo-san are better than that! They understand how important it is for us to make sure that we bring the community back to normal!"

"No, I'm pretty sure that they're just finding some way to pass the time…"

"Well since they are willing to help us out, I can already expect our community to recover that much sooner. With all the plants and life that return, we can provide that much more for everyone, and with that…"

Kurousagi's eyes started to stare out into the distance as she imagined her dream becoming a reality.

Just then, Asuka and Yo suddenly appeared in front of the pair.

"What's wrong with Kurousagi?" Asuka asked while pointing at the daydreaming rabbit.

"Apparently she thinks you're both helping out from the 'goodness in your heart' or something like that." Izayoi explained while bringing one of his hands up. "She really appreciates what you're doing for the community and trusts you both to take care of things."

Asuka grinned. "Well, we were all invited to join something interesting. It just wouldn't be fair if we didn't really help out with something every now and then."

Yo nodded in agreement as she held her companion, Calico Cat, around her arms. "We need to help out as much as we can to restore this guild to how it was." She answered softly.

Izayoi nodded his head in agreement. "That's true, so…." He stood up and asked with a gleam in his eye. "Shall we go try out another 'Gift game'?"

"Yeah!" the other two eagarly replied with a gleam in their own eyes as well. Kurousagi must have overheard them because she suddenly snapped back into reality and turned to the three with a panicked look on her face.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" she shouted in a surprised tone. Asuka-san and Yo-san was going to stay and help us all out with the garden! Why are you both suddenly agreeing with Izayoi-san?"

There was a short pause before Asuka turned to Izayoi. "What is she talking about?" she asked innocently.

"Who knows…" he replied.

Kurousagi's jaw dropped as she heard their words. Yo, who was playing with her four-legged companion, didn't seem to understand either, so the blue-haired rabbit had to ask what their true reasons were.

"Oh, that…" Asuka said as she started to understand the situation. "Well I thought the reason for that was obvious. Right. Kasukabe-san?"

Yo nodded in agreement. "Yeah, obvious…"

The both of them turned their heads to the confused rabbit. "Because we were bored…" they answered in unison. Izayoi laughed as the blue-haired rabbit fell on her knees and started to go into one of her depressing states.

"All of you…" she mumbled as her hair started to change from blue to a bright pink. "…ARE REALLY JUST A BUNCH OF PROBLEM CHILDREN AFTER ALL!" she shouted out in a fierce anger.

* * *

Shortly after the outburst, the four of them were in the meeting room as Kurousagi rested her head on the table while murmuring to herself. Asuka, Jin, and Izayoi were sitting nearby while Yo was standing behind her and gently petting her head

"You know what the real problem is?" Izayoi asked with his feet on the table. "It's just that we don't have enough people here to help out."

Kurousagi raised her head with tears falling from her eyes as she wondered what the blond-haired boy meant.

"Look, if you want to return this guild to its former glory quickly, you'll need to have more people to help out so that we can split into groups." He explained. "Some of us can be a 'repairing' group that helps out in the garden and stuff, while the rest of us can be the 'Gift Game' group that participates in the gift games for the community. That way, we can get things done quickly."

"I see, so instead of having the three of us do two different jobs at the same time, we get some help and split the work and get things done faster."

Yo nodded as she understood the meaning behind their conversation.

"Well," Jin began as he started to go into thought. "It's true that getting more people to help would make things easier in the long run…" he started to frown. "But that's assuming that they're willing to join us from the start. If they don't want to join us for any reason, then it might make the whole idea pointless."

"Hey, hey!" Izayoi said smiling. "You managed to get us to join up, didn't you?"

"Well…" Kurousagi began with a sheepish tone. "We didn't really have much to lose at the time, so it didn't seem like much of a problem as it is now…" she started to poke her index fingers together while shifting her eyes away. "but with all our recent wins, and with all the progress we've made on the guild, it'll have a bigger impact if we were to accidentally summon some enemies instead some friends…"

"That's all that's on your mind?" Asuka asked while crossing her arms. The other two stood up straight as she waved her hand. "Then it shouldn't be a problem if we just beat them up before they can betray us…"

Izayoi laughed as he agreed to the young lady's answer. Yo nodded with a serious look on her face as she clenched her hand into a fist. Kurousagi was about to shout in protest, but sighed heavily instead. She learned that by now, it was almost impossible to control the problem children, and things always seem to work out in the end anyways, so she wore a smile instead and clapped her hands.

"Well then, I'll go sent out some more invitations for people to join our group!" She started to hop away from the meeting room as the group started to talk about what to do with their new freedom.

* * *

_**And with that, I end the first chapter as well as offer OC creations. If you want me to use an OC you've thought up, then just PM me the following...**_

_**Name:**_

_**Appearance:**_

_**Personality:**_

_**History:**_

_**Gift:**_

_**No guarantees about keeping them in the exact character you want, but I'll do my best.**_

_**I've thought up a few "Gift Games" to use in this story, but it'll be helpful if people are willing to share some ideas as well. Again, just PM me the details, and we'll talk.**_

_**I've got some OCs set up, but I'm not planning on using a lot of them for this story. If you guys want pairings, let me know and I'll try to work something out.**_

_**Otherwise, just enjoy the story as it comes.**_

_**(P.S. This series hasn't really been viewed a lot as far as I know, so I'll probably be waiting quite a while before actually updating this fanfiction. I DID NOT forget about this fanfiction, so don't think that I've given up yet)**_


	2. The Mystery Letters

**_Author note at the bottom..._**

* * *

"Run! That thing's a damn monster!"

A dark figure ran across the night sky, chasing after several punks who were running like their lives depended on it.

"Quick! In here!"

They ran into the narrow alley, blending into the shadows while heading towards the back space. The dark figure appeared on the roof, the night wind blowing across his coat and making it glide a bit. The figure didn't give a smile, but they all felt the same feeling of a mouse that was being cornered by a cat.

But as the saying goes, a cornered rat will bite the cat.

As the figure dropped down into the middle of the court, someone shouted "Now!" as the sound of a button being pressed was heard. A cage suddenly appeared from the ground, trapping the figure inside without any method of escape. The group of punks all reached for a gun and quickly aimed at the figure, who briefly removed his cloak before wrapping it around himself. Numerous shots rang in the area as all of them fired shot after shot until their guns clicked from the lack of ammo. They all stared as the figure didn't move, then suddenly, there was a rustle from the coat as it swirled around to reveal the figure perfectly unharmed. He grabbed the bar as it suddenly cracked and fell to pieces. Sliding out, he looked around before speaking.

"So, do you have any other tricks?"

A number of bodies were spread out across the court, which resembled street art if someone were to look from above. One lone figure stood, staring up into the moon as he wondered if this was all the world had to offer. Just before he was about to leave, something started to gently float down from the night sky towards him. He blinked twice to check that it wasn't his imagination before reaching out to grab an envelope. Turning it over, he saw that there was some kind of blood red stamp sealing the contents while the front had something strange written on it.

"_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

A young boy, wearing long pants and an open sweater with a blue shirt underneath, yawned as he walked along the street toward his house. He twirled his long black hair while shifting his eyes over to the side. It was another boring day at school. The teachers told him that his grades were plummeting again, and gave him the same stupid lecture about how his life was going to reach a decline if he didn't shape up or something like that.

"_It's not like I'm a complete idiot…"_

On the contrary, the boy was quite intelligent. Despite his records at school, he was just as smart, if not smarter, as several of the advanced classes. However, the problem didn't lie in his IQ, but in something else that disturbed him.

Reaching his house, he went up the steps and knocked on the door. There was a moment before the door opened to reveal a familiar person with caramel-skin, hair that fell to his shoulders, and eyes that were a deep shade of lavender.

"Good Afternoon Ryo-san."

"Afternoon Natsobe…"

The boy named Ryo took off his shoes as he tossed his bag on the couch and sat down while sighing heavily. His lookalike gave a curious look while walking over and taking a seat.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, just the usual stuff…"

"Ah, so you mean the lack of friends?"

"Sort of…" Ryo sighed. "I don't know why I needed to go to a public school instead of continuing my studies at home…"

"Well your parents did force you to go, but I'm pretty sure that's it's all for your best interests…"

"What do you know? It's not like they're your parents…"

"Actually they are, because…"

"Shut up…"

He grabbed Natsobe's arm and the lookalike disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace that he existed except for the small crease in the spot he was sitting at. Ryo sighed as he turned his head up towards the ceiling and gave a blank stare.

After a while, he thought of the mail that was sitting on the kitchen table, and went over to check things out. It was filled with the usual bills, advertisements, and bank statements, but the thing that caught his attention was an envelope with the front marked "_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

A red moon shone brightly above a large castle at the edge of a cliff. A silver-haired maiden with black streaks was waking up from her bed and staring out the window of her room before yawning. She started undressing herself, and went to a mirror to check her body for anything strange before snapping her fingers. Hands appeared from the shadows that stretched to her closet and returned with several kinds of clothing. After some time passed, she ended up wearing a long white and blue dress with a floral pattern, along with light blue heels. She went to her desk and opened one of the drawers to take out a small box. Inside, there was a pendant that resembled a black bat-like wing that she attached around her neck. She gave one last look in the mirror before nodding and opening the door.

She sat down alone in the dining room with a plate of food and a cup of juice. She silently ate and drank before elegantly wiping her mouth and leaving the dishes to her "servants". Ghostly figures appeared to gather her dishes while she went to the entrance. She hesitated before opening the door, and walked across the lawn to gather her mail. Anybody who knew her well would have noticed that despite her indifferent facade, she was walking slightly faster than normal to ignore the graffiti on her wall. Crude pictures of her being tied to a cross or being stabbed with a knife were drawn several places, but words like "FREAK!", "CURSED CHILD", "DIE!", and the like had practically filled the area. She finally reached the mailbox and gathered the few envelopes inside before walking back and slamming the door.

She had already known what to expect, but she sifted through the envelopes anyways before tossing all the mail from her "fans" into the space in front of her. Gritting her teeth, she sat into her chair and just stared into the space in front of her.

"_Dammit…why am I stuck with such a damn, miserable life?"_

She was about to go back to bed when she noticed that there was an envelope that was different from what she normally saw, mixed among the hate mail. She walked over and bent down to pick up the envelope as she read the front.

"_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

A blond-haired elementary student was walking next to a riverbed, wearing a classic school uniform and holding a schoolbag. She sighed heavily as she stared at the sky.

"I wonder where nii-san went to…"

She started to twirl her bag while looking depressed. But she suddenly slapped her face lightly before making a determined face.

"No! I don't need to worry too much! He'll be fine!"

She punched the air and started to walk confidently for a few steps before she froze.

"But wait...what if he was seduced by some evil temptress who tricked him into working for her as her slave? No, that can't be, nii-san is much too smart for that. But then again, he always seemed to have a sort of thing for girls…"

The girl started to get depressed again as she started to worry about her brother's fate and shook her head in frustration.

"AAAA GEEZ! I want to try and find nii-san as soon as possible, but I don't have a clue as to where he might be! NII-SAN, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Just after she shouted to the heavens, something gently landed on her face. She grabbed what looked like an envelope with a red stamp on it. She turned it over to the front and furrowed her brow as she read the front.

"_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

Walking alongside a large bridge, a young man was yawning with boredom as he started mumbling to himself.

"Ahhhh…I'm bored….there's nothing fun to do around here…"

He sifted through his hair, brushing the pink streaks on his left side that covered his eye. He scratched his head while staring out into the sky. People that passed by would stare at him because of his appearance. The pink streaks among his black hair was already unusual enough, but the young man was wearing a long dark jacket with rips and tears on it to represent the many battles he must have fought. He had bandages wrapped around his hands and arms, and weapons were strapped to each side of his waist (A Shinai on his left and a Bokken on his right), further emphasizing the dangerous feel. In short, the young man gave off the look of a Japanese gangster/Samurai-wannabe.

The young man must have grown tired of the whispers about him because he suddenly took out his shinai with one hand and brought it to the air.

"You people have a problem with me?!" he asked smiling.

Slamming the wooden sword down, the bridge suddenly rumbled as a line started to form from the spot where the shinai landed. The bridge started to creak, making people run away as fast as they could while it started to collapse on one side. Cars, bikes, and other methods of transportation fell into the water along with some debris. The young man, standing on top of the bridge sighed as he was all alone.

"This whole world is boring, especially since I haven't seen _him_ in a while. I wonder where he went…"

As he turned his head towards the sky, an envelope gently fell towards him. He caught the suspicious object and turned to find an unusual piece of writing on it.

"_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

"Please…just don't hurt me!"

In the alleyway between two buildings, a young girl found herself being cornered by a couple of punks who were licking their lips very pervertedly.

"Oh, we're not gonna hurt you little lady, we just want o have some fun!"

"Yeah, after all, it's not like anyone else would understand our games…it's like a fun little lesson for you…"

"Yup, we're just going to _educate_ you a little bit…"

The girl kept backing up closer and closer to the wall as the two perverts started to step closer and closer.

"Now then, how about we start the games?"

"...No…please…I just wanted to know more about the murders around here…"

"Huh? Why would you want to know about that crap?"

"I-I-It's just…"

"It doesn't matter what the hell happened around here! This is a lawless society where nothing matters! You should be more worried about yourself!"

The girl fell silent as her head dropped.

"I…I guess you're right…"

The two of them started to reach out and grab her when she started to chuckle. The chuckle suddenly brought a devilish smile with it as she gave an evil glance.

"It doesn't matter what happens here…"

Her blood-red eyes suddenly started to glow as the two punks started to panic…

"*Sigh* no luck here either…"

The girl sat down on the bodies of her "victims", who were lying on the ground motionless. Taking her bag, she brought out a black jacket that covered her black shirt and torn jeans, along with a pair of rubber shoes to replace the heels that tortured her feet. After making the quick change, she brushed her ocean-blue hair somewhat seductively before giving another sigh.

"I wonder if there's something else I can do besides grasping for information. It's not like I want to be some justice freak, but I don't feel satisfied with what I'm doing anymore…"

Checking her bag for anything she may have missed, she found an envelope with some strange writing on it.

"_To whomever this may concern_"

* * *

_"Boys and girls with wondrous talents and much distress, I address thee! If you strive to test your Gifts, then cast aside your friends, your possessions, your world, and come to our __**Little Garden**__"_

* * *

There was a sudden flash of light as each of the recipients was bathed in a bright glow. After their eyes had adjusted, each of them looked around to see that they were falling from the sky and towards the world below. Two of them glanced at the others, three kept calm, and the last one looked like she wanted to scream but couldn't. At that moment, they all thought the exact same thing

"_What the hell is going on?!"_

* * *

**_So first things first I guess, I'd like to thanks everyone for sending in your OCs to me. I promise that I will do my best to make an interesting story with the stuff I've got, but of course, you are all free to just stop reading and throw this story out your alert list if you feel like it's getting boring or something like that (LOL)._**

**_About the number of characters, I've gotten about 6 people who sent in an OC, and I thought about taking a few off, but I guess that's really for you guys to decide. If you all want your OC "gone" then just let me know. But I'm pretty sure I can work with everyone here, just as long as nobody expects their character to be featured in every chapter (Share the spotlight of course). Of course there's one more character, but she's not a "Problem child", so she'll be featured about a couple chapters later (I didn't forget, I promise)._**

**_OC applications are currently (and possibly forever) closed, but thanks to everyone who wanted to send one in from here on out. I'm really sorry about being unable to add in any more. Still, hope you guys all enjoy the story._**

**_Finally, speaking of the story, I'm BEGGING you to PLEASE criticize it when you think it needs work. Good reviews are nice, but a bad review can help me improve. Feelings will not get hurt, so don't hold back._**

**_Anyways, thanks for reading this, and I'll try to update whenever I can._**


	3. Meeting more Mondaiji (Part 1)

There was a giant splash as the problem children and their chaperone saw several figures fall towards the lake.

"Oh, so is this a thing that Kurousagi likes to do to every guest?"

Asuka turned her head to Kurousagi, who was shaking nervously. The "ojou-sama" with a red dress sighed.

"Kasukabe, do you smell anything from that area?"

Yo started to sniff the air intently, using her refined senses to measure how far away their new guests were, as well as determine if there was any chance of immediate danger.

"Yeah, they're separated into two groups. One about a few miles away, and another a few miles from the first… none of them seem dangerous….but…"

"But?"

"There's something….familiar…about one of them…."

"Familiar? You mean we've met them before?"

"I'm not sure….it doesn't seem like it's bad though…"

"Well, no matter who they are, we'd better go see them and beat them up!" Izayoi punched his hand as he spoke, making Kurousagi panic wildly.

"NO! We shouldn't just go punching them as soon as we meet them! Don't you think that defeats the purpose of trying to recruit them in the first place?!"

Asuka brushed her hand through her hair. "Kurousagi is correct; we shouldn't go resorting to such crude methods when meeting them."

"Asuka-san!"

"I'll just use my [Gift] to force them all into submitting to us in an embarrassing way. We can blackmail them into working under us for a while, but I'm not sure how we can get them to stay after that…"

"Asuka-san…"

"Actually, that might not be a bad idea. If we use her gift, we might be able to get them to do a lot of interesting things for us…"

"Izayoi-san!"

"Then I guess it's settled…"

The problem children started walking over with their long-eared friend following behind them dejectedly.

* * *

There was a loud "SPLASH" as one group of children fell into the water. Three of the children had resurfaced with an annoyed look on their faces while a fourth was dusting off her clothing without any signs of even touching the water.

A boy dressed in black tossed his coat and gloves to a nearby branch before checking himself for any damages.

The caramel-colored boy with long hair had swung his hair a bit while trying to dry himself off by shaking his clothing.

The blond-haired girl was trying to squeeze her uniform dry while silently sobbing to herself about how wet her clothes were.

And finally, the young girl wearing elegant clothing (and the only one who was actually dry at the moment) had her hand resting on her hip while looking around.

"How troublesome…"

"What is this amazing place?!"

"My clothes…."

The four of them looked at each other with accusing eyes, but none of them spoke until the blond-haired girl started to yell.

"What's the big deal?!" She screamed while pointing at them. "I thought this was supposed to be some kind of invitation! Not some freefall drop from the sky!"

"Wait," the caramel boy asked. "You got one of those weird letters too?"

The boy in black (actually a grey long sleeve shirt and jeans at the moment) was fiddling with the pendant around his neck. "Then it wasn't a coincidence…"

"Tch!" The elegant girl just clicked her tongue while looking away.

"What was that for?!"

"I want to know what's going on here!"

"Everything looks a lot like home, but it's a lot cleaner here…."

"Who the hell cares about that?! I want to know why we just fell like a million feet from the sky!"

"Calm down, it wasn't **that** bad…"

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, I've experienced a lot worse than this…"

"What on earth is wrong with you two?"

After some more screaming, arguing, and other senseless talk, the group managed to calm down to a simple glare towards each other. The caramel boy stepped up and crossed his arms.

"Well, I guess we should start with names…" he decided. "Guess I'll start then…"

He stood tall while trying to give a condencending look towards the other three. "I'm Ryo Natsobe, nice to meet you all."

"Cecilia Silvaria Snowbell. Remember that…" the elegant girl replied angrily.

"Kyle Shirokage" the boy in grey calmly replied as he started to get his coat and gloves back.

The blond-haired girl shivered while talking. "I-I'm H-H-Hikari….A..A…Achoo!"

Ryo turned his head with a look of slight interest. "Hikari-Achoo? That's a pretty unusual name…"

"Shut up! My clothes are soaked and everything else in my bag is wet. How the hell am I supposed to just act like everything is fine?!"

"Well, people have survived in worse situations. If you think about how better off than someone who was naked…"

"Not helping…"

Hikari was pinching her forehead when Kyle suddenly walked up to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and seemed to be thinking of something before the moisture from her uniform seemed to disappear, or more accurately, the water that was soaked in had just "slid" to the ground.

"Eh?"

Hikari blinked. Her clothes weren't wet anymore; it was as dry as it was before they fell into the lake. She wanted to say something, but he just placed his hand into her bag and closed his eyes.

Shortly after, he grabbed her bag and tipped it over like a water pot, causing a stream of water to pour out of her bag. Afterwards, he tossed the bag back to her and went over to Ryo to do the same thing.

Hikari checked the inside of her bag, but nothing was soaked. Some of the ink from her books and papers had ran a bit, but not a drop of water remained in anything.

"Is that some kind of ability you have?" Ryo asked as Kyle started to put on his jacket and gloves. There wasn't an answer, so Ryo just shrugged and decided to try and get closer to the girl named Cecilia.

"Excuse me…"

However, Cecilia kept quiet too, so he frowned a bit before scratching his head. If they were going to try and survive this place together, then this wasn't off to a very good start. He wanted to study the area to get an idea of what kind of place this was like, but he didn't enjoy the idea of trying to disappear from people who might attack him or the little girl Hikari at any time. He was at a loss about what to do when something had suddenly sprung in his mind.

"Mind if I ask the three of you something?"

They all looked up at Ryo. "Did the letter you guys got say 'To whomever this may concern'?"

The three of them nodded their heads simultaneously.

"Then I guess it was all by chance that we got them. Otherwise, they might have used our names specifically to ask us to come here…" As he thought, Ryo's eyes started to gleam. "Maybe there was some kind of magic involved in the letter. If so, then that means that there may have been some kind technique to store magic inside. Yeah, but how did these letters come into our possession? Could they have been sent here by some kind of probability magic? But then….."

He was practically muttering to himself now, so the other three started to ignore him and went back to staring at each other. Kyle suddenly glanced at Cecilia's pendant with a look of interest on his face.

"That pendant…"

He glanced at her face, then at the pendant, as if trying to study something before he crossed his arms.

"You're not human…are you…."

She looked at him with a smirk and stretched her hand out.

"That's not a very nice thing to say. Are you saying I'm really that evil?"

"No, I mean you're something else that's not entirely human, right?"

Cecilia froze while glaring at him. She kept her mouth closed, but she was clenching her teeth while thinking about whether he was a "friend" or an "enemy".

"Well it's not like it really matters to me…" he sighed before turning his head to Hikari. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Um…it was…"

"Hikari?"

Hikari's eyes widened as she turned around to see the source of the voice.

The other two looked over to see another group of four appear suddenly from the forest. One appeared to be a calm-looking girl wearing a sleeveless jacket and shorts while holding a cat, the one next to her was a black-haired girl wearing bows and a red dress that gave a sort of "ojou-sama" feel, another was a blond-haired boy in a gakuen uniform who gave a "delinquent" aura, and the last was some weird-looking girl who looked like she was wearing some kind of hostess club uniform with rabbit ears.

"Hikari, what are you doing here?"The blond-haired delinquent asked casually.

"Nii-san…"

Hikari seemed to be struggling in place before…

"NII-SAN!"

She ran over to the blond-haired delinquent and wrapped her arms around him while burying her head in his midsection. From the look on his face, he didn't seem to have expected to see her here. The three girls near him seemed even more surprise, so it was possible that they had no idea what was going on.

"Izayoi-san? Are you saying that you know this girl?"

"Yeah, this is Hikari Sakamaki. She's from my world."

"Ah, I see…..wait, Sakamaki? But isnt' that…"

"Yeah, because she's my sister…"

"….EEHHHH?!"

The cries from the three girls echoed into the sky.

* * *

_**Well here's the third chapter. Story may be getting better or worse (writing-wise) in the future, but I guess that's for us to never know until it happens, though I try to make it better, if not equally good. (Please feel free to ignore my pessamistic comments. It's a personal belief that thinking negative will always help me improve)**_

_**Anyways back to the story. No, I haven't recieved any "cancelling orders" or "refunds", so I assume you guys all want to keep your OC (Original Character) in the story. That's fine, I can live with that.**_

_**Two or three of you might be worried I forgot about your OCs, but no,I haven't. I made a list to keep track of each character, so don't worry. I've got plans for everybody, so don't start running around like crazy thinking about whether your character will never show up. Like I said in the last chapter, we're sharing the spotlight, so there will be times where some guys get the good stuff, and other times, they'll be comical support. But I promise that everyone will have an important role in one point or another.**_

_**As for the reviews so far, thanks a lot for the positive feedback. I guess there's nothing wrong YET, so that's good to know. But remember, if there's something off or something you don't like, feel free to let me know, and I'll try to see what I can do.**_

_**So I guess that's it. Look forward to the next chapter.**_


	4. Meeting more Mondaiji (Part 2)

**_I guess there's been a problem about the setting. And by problem, I mean that I've been REALLY vague about where the last chapter took place. Sorry about that. In case you are wondering, it's more or less the same location that the original problem children first appeared at when the whole series began._**

**_Anyways, back to the story..._**

* * *

A few miles away from where the first group landed, a tough-looking punk was mumbling to himself while slowly walking to the middle of the clearing at the lakeside.

"Damnit! Who the hell thought up this prank?"

He started shaking his clothes to try and dry them faster. Luckily he fell in the water instead of the earth, so he wasn't hurt anywhere physically. His pride, however, was a different story.

"I'M GONNA SCREW THAT MORON WHO DID THIS TO ME!"

"U-Ummmm…"

He quickly turned his head to see a young girl with ocean-blue hair and blood-red eyes staring at him from behind a tree in the forest. He noticed that her clothing was similar to the kind that detectives or mysterious characters in manga would wear, but her personality seems to greatly contradict her appearance.

"What is it?"

"Uhhh…well, I couldn't help…but overhear…did you…get some kind of…letter?"

"Huh?" he brought his face closer to the girl. He didn't mean to be harsh on her, but he was too pissed off to notice that his face seemed to be projecting rage. She cringed a bit, so he sighed and took a deep breath before talking again.

"Guess you got one too…"

She quickly nodded while shivering from the cold. Looking closely, he noticed that she was also soaked down to the bone, so she must have fallen into the lake about the same time he did.

"So it's probably not just some stupid prank…Well, we should go find the others…" he said as he remembered that there were more people that fell from the sky.

He removed his jacket to reveal a giant picture of the Kanji for "Strength" on the back of his shirt, and tossed it to the shivering girl.

"It's pretty wet, but it'll probably be warmer than what you've got right now…"

She stared at him for a few minutes before making a deep bow in appreciation and wearing it over her own clothes. The boy scratched his head before offering a hand.

"I'm Mugen Aragaki. What's your name?"

"O-Otome Sakura…y-you could just call me S-Saku…"

She gave him her own hand to shake. Afterwards, Mugen looked around for a bit before taking out the shinai from his waist and letting it rest on his shoulder.

"Let's head that way." He said pointing to nowhere in particular. We might find a town or the other guys if we follow the edge of this lakebed…"

The two of them started walking in search of some form of aid. Mugen hoped that wherever they were, it wouldn't be boring at the very least.

* * *

Back with the first group, the [No Names] had just finished explaining the situation to their new visitors.

"I see, so we were summoned to someplace called [Little Garden] by the one called Kurousagi…" Kyle said, as if trying to understand.

"Yes! That's right!" Kurousagi answered.

"And we're supposed to just join the group known as the [No Names] because these guys don't want to spend too much time in the garden?"

"Yeah, that's correct" Asuka replied.

"And you say that if we refuse, you'll just force us to join anyways and make us submit to embarrassing situations?"

"Yup, that's the plan." Izayoi nodded.

"I see…"

Kyle took up the role as "representative" since Ryo was in his own world, Cecilia wasn't much of the talkative type, and Hikari was clinging on to her brother very tightly. After reviewing the facts, he glanced at the [No Names] once again before pocketing his hands.

"Then can I assume the one that nearly killed us is the bunny girl over there?" he asked shifting his head towards Kurousagi's direction while glaring.

Kurousagi tried to keep a straight face, but on the inside, she was sweating a river. She didn't want to anger this dangerous-looking kid, but she wasn't sure how to answer without lying.

"Yeah, pretty much…"

Her jaw dropped as Izayoi answered while holding his hand out, as if offering her as a sacrifice. Out of fear, her brain started to spin as she tried to calculate how far she could travel if she started running right now.

"I see…" Kyle closed his eyes as he started to go into deep thought. "Then I guess there's only one way we can accept this turn of events…"

He grinned as he looked at the four (technically five) of them.

"Let's participate in one of these [Gift Games] right now..."

"Eh?" Kurousagi cocked her head to one side in confusion.

"You said that people offer almost anything in these [Gift Games]. That's how most problems are dealt here, right?"

Asuka nodded her head. "Yeah, that's pretty much how this world works…"

"Then we'll go have a simple game right now. If you win, we'll go and join without any problems. If not, then…you'll hand us the rabbit to be punished and repent for her cruel actions."

"That's fine."

"NO IT'S NOT!" Kurousagi was wildly flailing her arms as she tried to persuade the problem children into saving her. "Why does Kurousagi need to be the one who suffers?"

"Well you were the one who made them drop over the lake without warning." Yo retorted.

"You also brought in Izayoi's sister to such a dangerous world…"Asuka chimed in.

"Not to mention you haven't really done anything useful lately, so it shouldn't really matter that much if you're around or not…" Izayoi concluded.

Kurousagi fell to the ground, depressed and greatly saddened.

"Oh whatever…do what you all want… Kurousagi just doesn't care anymore…"

* * *

**Gift Game: "Oni Chase(Tag)"**

**Participant(s): Yo Kasukabe and Ryo Natsobe**

**Clear Condition(s):**  
**Capture the other participant.**

**Rules:**  
**The boundary field is a 2 kilometer radius.**  
**Participants who cross the boundary field for more than 10 seconds will automatically lose.**  
**The method of capture is irrelevant.**  
**Participants may not receive aid from others while this game is in progress.**  
**The game will begin once 10 seconds after both parties have agreed to the game.**

**Prizes:**  
**Should Yo Kasukabe win, Ryo Natsobe and his companions shall agree to join the community [No Names].**  
**Should Ryo Natsobe win, the [No Names] shall surrender the aristocrat known as "Kurousagi" to the other team**

**Oath: Each participant will adhere to the rules and will refrain from injuring with intent. The loser shall submit to their fate without question.**

* * *

"So are we in agreement?" Kurousagi asked each group.

Kyle held a [Geass Roll] in his hand while Izayoi held the other. Izayoi grinned as he nodded his head, while Kyle just closed his eyes in acknowledgement. The countdown silently began as Ryo and Yo stared at each other.

10…  
9…  
8…

"Good luck, Kasukabe-san…" Ryo said while smiling.

5…  
4…

Yo nodded. "You too…."

2...  
1…  
0!

At the end of the countdown, the two of them quickly ran into the forest with incredible speed. The others just watched as both figures disappeared into the trees.

"Well then, now that we've gotten that out of the way…" Asuka started turning her head to Hikari while smiling. "Let's all start getting along with each other, ok?"

Hikari didn't slack any grip on her brother, but she turned her head and gave a mean glare at the young "ojou-sama" with eyes that held a lot of mistrust. Asuka was a bit shocked, but she gave a small cough before turning to Kurousagi.

"So is there a place where we can just talk things over without any interruptions?"

Izayoi had suddenly interrupted. "Actually, I can think of a place right now…"

* * *

_**So here's the next "Author's note" segment.**_

_**I'm guessing some of you didn't expect these new chapters to appear so soon in such short timespans. Well this chapter might be shorter than the previous two, but that's because the gift game starts next chapter, along with some conversations between the two groups that may or may not hint abilities and/or history. Either way, I think it's getting interesting.**_

_**Don't expect this story to always be updated every 2 days or so. Right now I'm on a roll, but we never know when a snag will hit and make the next chapter appear in a month of so. But hopefully, I'll be able to let you guys know ahead of time.**_

_**I've said OC's are closed, but I'll be accepting any [Gift Games] you guys might have thought up if you want to share them. NOT YET THOUGH. With making up new chapters and planning how things might work out (as well as the expectation of a certain couple new games coming up next Saturday), I want things to eventually "cool off" first.**_

_**Anyways, thanks for the good and informative reviews. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter if you didn't like this one.**_


	5. Gift Game - Tag (Part 1)

_**I've tried working on giving more details on the setting, but I think it'll actually start getting better after the next couple of chapters. Here's hoping...**_

* * *

Yo Kasukabe was leaping from branch to branch in the dense forest with ease. Spots of light were gleaming here and there, but the trees were thick enough to cover the area in a somewhat thick blanket of darkness, making it difficult to see anything further than a couple feet at most. Her hair and clothes gently swayed through the wind as she matched Ryo's pace and silently followed him like an expert stalker. Thanks to her [Gift], her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness from the moment they went inside so keeping track of his whereabouts wasn't a problem.

On the other hand, Ryo, who was just blindly running through the forest, didn't seem as lucky since he was always making close calls as he ran, just barely avoiding the trees, bushes, and logs that were in front of him. Granted, he did seem to have a knack for instinctively passing through the area, but he was still moving a lot slower than she thought. Still, she couldn't go try capturing him just yet since one wrong move could lead to her own defeat.

"_Kurousagi probably wouldn't summon anyone that couldn't help us out much." _She thought to herself. _ "She'd want everyone to have some sort of [Gift], so he probably has one too…"_

In order to make sure that she didn't lose, she needed to understand what his [Gift] was so that she could dodge or counter accordingly. That's why she was following him while keeping a good distance away.

Eventually, Ryo was starting to look tired, so she sat on the branch and silently watched to see what he would do next. He looked around quickly before suddenly diving into a thick group of bushes to hide himself from any prying eyes. She mentally applauded him for thinking up something interesting, but thanks to her enhanced hearing, she could still tell where her opponent was, from even the slightest rustling of the leaves. She simply waited with her eyes closed while keeping her ears wide. Minutes had passed since he hid himself, but eventually, she heard some movement at the west, so she silently followed the noise until she saw his figure make a quick dash in the same direction. She smiled to herself as she continued the chase

* * *

At a clearing near the waterfall where the water god resided, the problem children and Kurousagi were waiting for their gift game to end. The calming sound of the rushing waterfall was accompanied by the gentle breeze that blew through the area as each of the children sat by themselves or in pairs around an assortment of large rocks. Izayoi started talking to Cecilia and Kyle while Hikari still clung on tightly to his arm.

"So you guys are supposed to be our new recruits? I guess that means you all have some kind of trick or something that's useful, right?" he asked, referring to their [Gift].

The two of them casually shrugged, making faces that seem to say "Who cares?" without even looking at the blond-haired boy. Izayoi chuckled a bit. "_We've got a couple of interesting guys here…"_

"Umm, excuse me…"

Asuka started to speak while raising her hand.

"What is it, _**ojou-sama**_?"He didn't turn his head, but Kyle responded while emphasizing the last word as much as possible in a mocking tone. Asuka briefly twitched, but she continued to speak in a calm manner.

"Well….do either of you know each other, or even that boy that Kasukabe is playing with right now?"

"No…"

"Then why did you select him to participate in the Gift Game? Didn't you think it was a bit risky to just send out someone you just met?"

Kyle turned his head with a confused look on his face.

"I thought you wanted to win this game…"

"Huh?" Asuka was taken slightly aback. "W-Well, it's just that…"

"I just chose him by chance. It sounded like it would've been fun, and besides, none of us really knew anything about each other in the first place…"

"That's true…"

"Really?" Cecilia smiled evilly while turning her head towards the boy in black. "I thought you could've made a better choice than that weirdo…"

"Then maybe you can say something instead of staying quiet…" He turned his head over with an equally evil smirk. "That way, you could actually help out instead of trying to act like some spoiled princess…"

Sparks flew between the two of them as Asuka nervously took a step back.

"W-Well, just ignoring them for a moment…:" she turned back to Izayoi and Hikari. "Why didn't Izayoi say anything about a little sister? It would've been nice to know that you had some kind of family back in your own world…"

"It's not like it mattered if you knew or not. Besides, nobody seemed to care enough to ask, so there wasn't a reason to bring it up in the first place…"

"Fair enough."

"Hey…"

Hikari suddenly spoke out for the first time in a while.

"I've been wondering for a while now…but what exactly is your relationship to nii-sama?"

"Huh? Izayoi is just a friend, it's not like we're anything closer than that…" The red-dressed "ojou-sama" answered simply while brushing her hair with her hand.

"Ehh…is that so…"

Hikari started to point her finger at Kurousagi.

"Then what's that perverted bunny girl to him?!"

"Kurousagi isn't a perverted bunny girl!" Kurousagi replied while red-faced. "Kurousagi is an aristocrat of Little Garden, a [Judge Master] for many [Gift Games], and one of the strongest players in any game! In short, Kurousagi is…"

"She's our pet…." Izayoi and Asuka answered together in unison.

"That's right, their…NO!"

Hikari didn't smile, but she seemed to have calmed down significantly.

"I see, well that's fine then…"

"That's wrong! Kurousagi isn't…"

"Hey Nii-sama, Are you having fun in this world?" Hikari asked, ignoring their pet rabbit. She gazed into her brother's eyes with a look that seemed to give off sparkles. Izayoi's expression didn't change much, but he gave a casual smile.

"Yeah, this place is pretty interesting to live in, so maybe it's a good thing you came here to join us. With your own ability and all…"

"Oh?" Asuka made an interested face. "So she has a [Gift] of her own?"

"Of course!" He placed a hand on her head. "She may not be as strong as I am, but she does have an interesting [Gift] that'll be useful for the community."

Petting his sister's head, Hikari reacted by giving a bright, satisfied smile. She seemed to be giving off a faint light from her body, but everyone in the area suddenly felt warmer and more uplifted.

"Eh? Suddenly I feel…happier…all of a sudden…"

Asuka mouth started to curve up as she felt a bit of euphoria rush through her body. Kurousagi couldn't help but smile as well, despite the troubles she felt earlier. Somehow, everything seemed just a bit brighter as she saw this young girl smile.

"Course, keep in mind that she's still my little sister…"

Izayoi stopped rubbing Hikari's head and sighed contently. Hikari's smile faltered a little, but the atmosphere went back to normal as the euphoric feeling suddenly disappeared. Even though the feeling wasn't that strong, the reaction they had was a little bit like an addict struggling from withdrawal.

"_Anyways…" _Izayoi thought to himself. _"I wonder how Kasukabe is doing right now…:"_

* * *

"_I think I've finally got him…"_

Yo was silently hiding in the branches while spying on her opponent. Ryo didn't seem to notice her, but he was still looking around frantically, like he expected her to jump out at anytime. His face seemed to show fear and insecurity, so it didn't seem like there were any plans for him to make a counter attack. If he wanted to use his [Gift], there didn't seem to be any reason why he didn't use it until now, besides the possibility that he needed to be fighting or something like that in order to use it. In other words, now was probably a good time to capture him.

Her plan was simple. First, sneak up as close as possible and hide in the bushes. Second, toss a few rocks occasionally to another direction and check for his reaction. Third, get the timing right and capture him while he's distracted so that he wouldn't be able to use his ability before she won.

Overthinking a plan wasn't her thing, and the longer she took thinking, the less likely that it would work, so she decided to carry out what she had, and improvise when she needed to.

Using her cat-like skills, she crept up into the bushes a few feet away from Ryo without him noticing. Keeping her focus on the target in front of her, she held the rocks she gathered nearby, and tossed one into the area on the opposite side, making the grass rustle and giving the illusion that she was over there. Ryo quickly turned around as an instinctive reaction to the sound. Yo kept quiet while counting the seconds in her mind.

"_One…two...three…four…five…six…seven…"_

At the count of 'seven', Ryo turned his head back to its original position, satisfied that nothing seemed to be coming for him. Yo gripped her hand tightly. It would take about seven seconds to capture him, but with the speed of her friends, she wouldn't have any trouble at all. She took a deep breath before tossing the stone quickly into the area that was a little bit more to the left than the last. As soon as the grass rustled, she quickly ran towards him while counting down in her mind.

"_One…two…three…"_

As she got closer and closer, she was about to spread her arms out when suddenly she instinctively jumped to the right.

"?"

Confused by her own actions, she didn't understand why she suddenly felt a strong urge to leap to the side instead of capturing her target until she turned back to face Ryo…..or actually….**both** "Ryo"s.

One of them was turning toward her direction, chuckling as he gave a victorious grin. The other was kneeling at the spot she was at only moments before, grinning like his twin.

"_What?"_

She didn't have time to think about it as one of them started to rush towards her with his arms wide. She leapt back and turned to run away from the area, leaving the identical twins to themselves while she started to get an idea of what Ryo's [Gift] was.

* * *

_**Author's note:**_

_**A few people who reviewed have mentioned their regret about being unable to share an OC for this story. Let me say that I'm REALLY sorry about that. If I could add in more, then I'd love to, but I felt like that to get a good "feel" for the story, I had to draw a limit to the number of new "problem children", so please forgive me for that.**_

_**However, I'm eventually going to be taking requests for [Gift Games], Rival Communities, and possibly [Demon Lords], so look forward to that, and I'll let you know when you can start sending them in if you're interested.**_

_**Anyways, I felt like this chapter could've been a bit better regarding the [Gift Game], but then again, this is my first time, so it was just more or less a test run. I'd appreciate it if you share with me what you've thought about it and what I could do to improve. **_

_**Reviews, both positive and negative are always welcome, and once again thanks for reading this fanfiction.**_

_**(P.S. With the new games coming, I want to try and get at least one more chapter in before getting too distracted for a while, so expect at least one chapter to appear this week)**_


	6. Gift Game - Tag (Part 2)

_**Sadly, this [Gift Game] is only about two chapters long. I'll explain (or at least try to) in the Author's notes below...**_

* * *

Behind one of the trees near the top, Yo was breathing heavily as she tried to go over in her mind what just happened.

Ryo apparently has help, but the fact that there weren't any warnings or any sign of the game ending meant that it wasn't a different player or even an accident, so he didn't really break any rules. But in that case, the only answer she could think of is…

"It's his [Gift]…"

The fact that his "partner" was practically identical in every way means that his ability must be a way to duplicate himself. But when did he do it? She was trailing him the whole time since the game began so she would have noticed if something changed…..no wait, there was that one moment in the bushes. She couldn't really see him, so she had to rely on her hearing for his location. Since she didn't expect him to replicate himself, she was only focusing on one set of movements instead of two.

He must have copied himself and one of them stuck behind in the bushes while the other worked as a sort of distraction. Then, the first would follow behind them from a good distance until the time was right to trap her, which was why her animalistic instincts took over so suddenly. But now, even if she knew about his double, they still seem confident about tackling her head on.

So to summarize what she knew so far…

1. Ryo's [Gift] appears to be the ability to replicate himself somehow

2. The situation had turned into a 2-to-1 battle

He/They must have planned this out from the beginning, but right now she needed a way to turn back the tide. It was still a two-against-one, and now she'll need to expend more energy to avoid the both of them.

"_Let's try splitting them up…"_

After checking briefly for any signs of movement, she quickly started to leap from branch to branch as fast as she could…

* * *

"C'mon, I just want one little peek!"

"…"

"It's not like it's gonna hurt anybody."

"…"

Back at the waterfall, Izayoi was talking to Cecilia in a very annoying tone while smiling. Hikari seemed to have released her grip on him, and was sitting down next to Asuka. The red-dressed "ojou-sama" had her arms wrapped around the young girl in front of her and hugged her tightly, like a small child with a new stuffed teddy bear, much to Hikari's displeasure.

Cecilia, on the other hand, was glaring at the blond-haired boy with disgust and would silently turn her head away every time Izayoi asked, acting like he was a moving piece of garbage. Kyle and Kurousagi were sitting down and simply watched as the blond-haired boy continued to bother the elegant-looking girl.

"Is he always this persistent?" Kyle asked, referring to Izayoi.

"Actually, he's usually a lot worse…" Kurousagi sighed. The look in her eyes seemed to flashback to memories of abuse.

"Really? That sounds pretty interesting…"

"No! All these problem children keep causing a lot of trouble for all of us in the [No Name] community! They keep poking their noses into anything and everything without thinking about the consequences of their actions!" She frowned while waving her arms wildly in place. "Especially Izayoi! He's the worst of them all with his destructive tendencies and headstrong thoughts! If it wasn't for his vast knowledge and incredible [Gift]…"

Kyle started chuckling.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's just that for someone who's apparently troublesome, you've been pretty observant about him." He gave a smirk. "You have some kind of thing for him?"

"Wha-" Kurousagi's face turned red as she went speechless. A few seconds passed in silence before…

"It's a joke of course; you don't need to take it seriously…"

"Ha ha ha…."

Kurousagi was laughing nervously, and despite what Kyle said, his face seemed to believe otherwise. He turned back to Izayoi, who was still bothering Cecilia.

"C'mon! It'll be fun!"

"…"

"Look, all I'm asking is that we have a quick little match." Izayoi punched his hand. "Something about you just makes me want to fight…"

"…I refuse…"

"Oi, oi… come on…" Izayoi started to grab her shoulder, but her eyes sharpened as a sharp black spike suddenly appeared from her shadow. The delinquent-child took a large step back as the black object pierced the space where he stood just moments ago.

"Don't…touch…me…" she spat out while turning with her arms crossed.

As Hikari and Asuka watched the two of them, Hikari sighed as she saw her brother's devilish grin.

"Geez, Nii-sama is provoking someone again…."

"Ah, so he did that back in your world too?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah," the blond-haired girl nodded. "He's smart, but he's always been really ….feisty, especially when it comes to fighting." She gave a serious look at Cecilia. "But I can understand why he really wants to fight her. This woman seems…different…from everyone else I've seen before…"

"Different? How?"

"Well, there's something about her that…really makes people want to fight her…"

"Something?"

"Kind of like…when you see a plate of tasty food in front of you, and you just know what you're going to taste when you eat it, so you can't wait to start…kinda like that…"

Asuka looked confused, but she turned back to the silver-haired girl who was glaring fiercely at the young boy, who suddenly took up a battle stance.

"J-Just a moment!" Kurousagi started to run up to the space between the two of them with her arms held out. "N-No matter what you both plan to do, there's no fighting until Yo-san and Ryo-san settles their [Gift Game]!"

"Ehhhh?" Izayoi complained. "As long as we don't do anything within the game field, isn't it fine?"

"_Kurousagi is more worried about the level of destruction you problem children might cause!"_ She gave a worried look as she turned to the forest area where Yo was. "_Hurry up Yo-san! I don't know how much longer I can handle these problem children!"_

* * *

Things weren't going well.

Yo was even more exhausted than before as her breathing became noticeably louder while she tried to fill her lungs with air.

"_How did things go wrong so quickly?"_

* * *

_(Earlier...)_

_She couldn't ask for any help from the animals since that would be against the rules, so she needed to rely on her own [Gift] to face Ryo. Luckily she still had the advantage with her "Night Vision", "Cat-Movement", and "Canine-Senses", so she could still sneak up on one of them as long as she was careful. She'll continue with the plan, but now she'll need split them up instead of just making a simple distraction. She started travelling a couple feet when she felt something push against her foot lightly. Suddenly, a rattling was heard nearby before footsteps starting following in her direction. She lightly bit her lip as she started to pick up the pace._

_Since then, she came across a wide variety of traps which included small pitfalls, makeshift rope traps, and weak nets. They were obviously made quickly, so they weren't strong enough to really bind her. However, the point probably wasn't to capture her, but to slow her down long enough for Ryo and/or his double to catch up. Each trap also appeared to be attached to some string with several piece of wood and/or stones that would rattle and echo through the forest, signaling her location. Yo had grit her teeth as she started to understand how much of a disadvantage she was really in. The roles of prey and hunter had been switched, and it wasn't getting any easier…_

* * *

She kept her ears open for any signs of movement, so she was still ahead by just a bit in terms of locating her opponent. Yo also assumed that his [Gift] was probably a double-edged sword in this game. If his double was able to capture her without any risk, then Ryo himself wouldn't have needed to move around so much. However, Ryo and his double were moving together, so capturing either of them should fulfill the condition. Still, she needed to find a way to catch one of them by surprise, but there didn't seem to be any way to do that without risking a turnaround. She frowned as the situation started to seem hopeless before something started to click in her mind…

* * *

"Hmmm…"

Ryo stood around keeping his eyes and ears open for any signs of Yo. His twin just silently watched him while keeping his hands in his pockets. Normally, Ryo would produce a third or fourth "copy" of himself in this kind of situation, but doing so would weaken him for about a few minute or so, and that wasn't exactly an option for him right now. So he had his double build all kinds of traps to compensate while he kept Yo distracted. If she tried to catch him earlier, there was an 88% chance of him losing immediately. But he took the chance that she would've been suspicious, and it ended up paying off.

Still, the fact that she could follow him at all in this forest and avoid most of his traps, meant that she could see clearly in the dark, which meant he was still at a slight disadvantage. His eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness though, and as long as he kept alternating "break shifts" with his double, then they'll be able to keep enough energy to make a quick dash when needed. However, he needed to end this game quickly, otherwise the number of traps might drop too quickly.

"_It's been a while since I made my double, should I make a third 'copy' for myself now?"_ he started to think as he mentally weighed the pros and cons. However, the sound of rustling distracted him as the two of them instinctively ran towards the source of the noise.

When they arrived at the spot where the rattling came from, they glanced around looking for any signs of the young girl. His double went over to the trap and motioned him over. He carefully walked over to his double, who held up part of the rope that appeared to have been dangling in the air. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the rope appeared to have been chewed off.

"_Is she trying to get rid of the signals?"_

Even though it might help, doing so would be wasting time and energy, so it would end up being more of a disadvantage. Besides, the signal could easily be reset for later, so it would've been better to use the time to set off more traps instead…Unless...

His eyes widened in shock as he quickly turned around and stared from place to place. He didn't notice it before, but there hadn't been any other signals set off elsewhere in the forest, so that meant that she had to be nearby. She must've thought about trying to separate him from his double, so they quickly moved closer together with their backs closer to tree behind them. Suddenly, something fell from the branches above them as they quickly rolled over before turning around. It was Yo Kasukabe, staring at his double intensely.

Yo was about to lunge forward, so his double started to jump to the right to avoid her capture. However, there was a sound of something hitting something else with great force, and he saw that instead of Yo rushing forward, she made a roundhouse kick at his double, sending him flying into a nearby tree and knocking him out.

"Damnit, this doesn't seem good…"

He started to back away slowly as she stared at her next target like a wolf targeting its prey. He needed to avoid her at all costs, so he kept himself prepared for her next move. However, he felt his foot got snagged on something as he suddenly fell backwards. After landing on his back, he looked up to see that his foot was caught in his own pitfall trap. He stared dumbfounded before smiling and relaxed his muscles. He closed his eyes as a warm feeling wrapped around his body, signaling the end of the game.

* * *

Kurousagi's ears twitched as she turned to the forest.

"Ara…it seems like the [Gift game] finally ended…"

The other children turned their heads over as they heard the rabbit make her announcement.

"The winner appears to be...Yo-san!" she answered with a hint of joy in her voice. Izayoi and Asuka grinned in response to the results. Kyle just sighed as she scratched his head without much reaction. Cecilia clicked her tongue, but simply brushed her hair as she didn't seem to care much about the results. Hikari, seeing the opportunity to join her brother in his community, smiled happily. Kurousagi turned back to the newcomers.

"Well then, as a result, Natsobe-san, Snowbell-san, Sakamaki-chan and Shirokage-san will all join the [No Name] community without question!"

"Guess there's no choice…" Cecilia mumbled to herself. "It'll be a pain to work with a group of people, but I guess there's nothing better to do, and it's better than sleeping outside…"

"Nii-samaaaa!" Hikari started running over ecstatically to her brother, who turned to see her quickly close the distance between them.

Kyle watched the others gather around to celebrate before grinning and staring up into the sky.

"Now then [Little Garden]," he said quietly to himself. "Let's see what you've got to offer…"

* * *

Yo and Ryo were still in the forest, sitting against a tree as they rested to recover their stamina.

"You did a good job, Kasukabe-san…" Ryo complemented while offering his hand. He was too focused on himself and his double to think about the trap his double had set up nearby. To have him caught by his own trick, he was honestly impressed.

"Same to you…" She gave him her own hand to shake. As the two of them smiled at each other, Ryo gave a small laugh as he suddenly remembered one more thing that slipped his mind.

"So, do you have any idea how to get out of here?"

* * *

_**Author's note: Yeah, that troublesome time again when you reach the end of the chapter to read about my thoughts.**_

_**So honestly, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. It had that usual feeling like something could've been done to make it better, but at the same time, I felt like I'd just be squeezing out as much as I could to add on more details and such, so I just decided to hand in what I've got. Sorry if it makes me seem lazy.**_

_**Now some may be wondering why I made this only two chapters long for the [Gift Game]. Well...I honestly have to say that I didn't expect this [Gift Game] to last very long. The future ones would probably last longer, but this particular was expected to be one of the(if not "the") shortest ones in this fanfiction. Of course, we have no idea how long this fanfiction would last, so yeah, *Shrug* que sera, sera.**_

_**Anyways, hope you thought this was at least a bit decent, and I'll try to get in a more interesting chapter next time (Probably sometime in the next three days or so). Reviews are welcome as always, and thanks for sticking with me so far...**_


	7. Welcome to Little Garden! (Again) Part 1

_**Hey, it's been a while, but I've finally gotten the next chapter up. Enjoy part seven...**_

* * *

After regrouping with Yo and Ryo, the [No Names] and the newcomers went to the gates of [Little Garden] and entered inside to find what appeared to be a small marketplace. Wide assortments of buildings were lined up in neat rows with a variety of living creatures moving around. Humans, Lizardmen, Cat people, children, and more were all talking, walking, or shopping around casually. Fountains and plants were placed around the streets, as if trying to give a homely sort of feel to the area. Cafes and little market stalls were set up here and there, ranging from a simple coffee shop to maid cafes. The smells of fruit, cooked food, and ash filled the air, giving the feel of a small village, but from above, the area was obviously much larger than the average town, and more like a city.

"Amazing, so this is the kind of place that [Little Garden] is like?" Ryo asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Yes!" Kurousagi said as she started to explain in a very professional-like manner. "Although this is just one of the many levels in [Little Garden], they are all more or less the same as what you see here! Each level of [Little garden] houses a number of communities and facilities. However, the higher up on the level you go, the rewards, facilities, and even living quarters will significantly improve each time! Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that living quarters in the lowest level can't be better than any of the higher levels, but the amount of effort you need to put into improving these conditions are usually quite difficult, so many communities…."

As Kurousagi continued to explain the situation like a hired tour guide, the newcomers were following the rest of the group while glancing around (Hardly anyone was paying attention at this point). Each had a different reaction to what they saw.

Kyle gave a casual glance around while studying the area with interest, almost like he was searching for something.

Cecillia would simply glare at the buildings and citizens that seemed to ogle to group as they passed by. However, she would occasionally look at the children that ran around with a slightly warmer face before quickly turning her line of vision towards something else.

Hikari didn't seem to care as she just happily followed her brother closely. She was not ignorant of things, as she quickly grasped the idea of how things appeared to work in this world, but was more interested in seeing the guild that her brother had helped out in.

Ryo kept changing his view from the buildings, to the creatures, to the shops, and back to the buildings. Like a child who discovered a toy store for the first time, he was very interested in everything around him, almost to the point of reaching and feeling things with his own skin for a better understanding.

"I assume that very little is different from what you've experienced in each of your own worlds." Kurousagi said. "Buying and Selling is the same here as practically every other world. You have your basic necessities available in your communities, and food and clothing must be bought with the money you've earned on your own. In other words, you shouldn't have any problems adjusting here, since your lifestyle shouldn't be that different from what you would normally do…"

"Just a minute," Asuka interrupted. "Why haven't you mentioned all of this to any of us?" she asked, referring to herself, Izayoi, and Yo. "We've been working quite hard since we've first arrived, but you've never told us that we could have simply kept money for ourselves! We were told that the money was supposed to be directly transferred to the community's reserves!"

Kurousagi froze before beads of sweat started to form from her forehead. She slowly turned around while giving a reply.

"W-Well…it might have been problematic if you problem children started to use up all the money we earn…s-so it was probably for the best to keep quiet about this for…"

"Oh, so you didn't trust us enough to handle money correctly?" Asuka began to give an evil glare as she spoke.

The blue-haired rabbit started to panic strongly. Her natural instincts started to tell her to run off, but she glanced at the other two, hoping they would understand.

Izayoi just glanced before giving a smirk and holding his arms up as if saying "Don't look at me!" Yo didn't seem to show any hostility, but her face seemed a bit gloomier than usual. She started playing with Calico cat while pretending to ignore everything that has happened until now. Kurousagi's situation was starting to look even worse by the minute, and everything went cold as she felt Asuka place one hand on her shoulder with a very frightening smile.

"Well then, let's see how irresponsible I can really be…"

As Kurousagi started to scream, Hikari and Kyle just watched on the sidelines like something pathetic was happening. Ryo didn't seem to have noticed, as he was still glancing around the area with bewilderment. Cecillia didn't seem to have noticed either, but unlike the others, she was thinking about something Kurousagi said earlier.

_In other words, you shouldn't have any problems adjusting here, since your lifestyle shouldn't be that different from what you would normally do_

She spat at the ground as she angrily thought back to the graffiti on the wall at her home. "_You have no idea what my life was like…_"

* * *

A young child, wearing robes that were obviously too large for him, appeared to be waiting in front of a large mansion-like building, which was the headquarters of the [No Names]. The child slowly walked up to greet the group of people that were arriving up ahead.

"Kurousagi! Izayoi-san!" He waved as each of them started to get closer. "It looks like you've found them!"

"Yeah, we didn't have any trouble getting them to join either, so you don't need to worry about how to ask them or anything like that." Izayoi's assurance gave him some relieve. Even though this spiky blond-haired boy was the most destructive and troublesome of the three, Jin always felt like he could rely on him to help out in the end. He sighed as he turned to look at their new help.

"So we had three more people arrive, huh?"

Kurousagi brightly turned around. "Yes! Four new people are going to…" she blinked as she noticed that Kyle and Asuka had suddenly disappeared.

"EEEHHHH?! W-W-What just happened?!"

Izayoi gave his response like he just remembered something. "Oh yeah, I think Kyle said something about looking around the area and he just grabbed 'Ojou-sama' as some kind of guide."

Kurousagi didn't seem too surprised (as she experienced this almost too-familiar scene at least once before), but her face was still frozen from the shock.

"Then why didn't you say anything?!"

"Well, I kinda felt bad about taking off on my own last time, so I decided to let our 'Ojou-sama' go off this time and kept quiet about it." He gave a cheerful grin as he continued. "Of course, Kasukabe will be the next one when the opportunity arrives."

The quietest of the trio gave a small smile. "Thank you…"

"It's no problem…"

Kurousagi thought about yelling at the two of them, but she just sighed instead. She more or less gave up on trying to restrain the "problem children" too much, and things seem to work out in the end, so she decided to pretend like nothing terrible happened because it really didn't….probably.

"A-Anyways," Jin spoke up. "We should probably get everyone introduced to the new members. So let's all go inside."

The group followed the young child leader as he pushed open the door to their headquarters.

* * *

"You sure about this?" Kyle asked as he and Asuka started walking along a busy street at the marketplace. It may have been seen as "taking", but the young girl in the red dress didn't really put up much of a resistance as he lightly grabbed her shoulder. On the contrary, it felt like she was volunteering.

"It's fine. I didn't want to simply go back and forth like a messenger, so it works out for me as well…"

"Is that so?" Kyle smirked as he stopped and gave a bow that closely resembled a butler's. "Well then, excuse me for being so rough on you, 'ojou-sama'." He added the last part with a bit more respect than the last time. Asuka gave a small curtsy as she returned his apology.

"I accept your apology, 'Kuro-san'." She said while emphasizing the end in the same tone as he emphasized.

The two of them grinned respectfully at each other before continuing on their way.

"By the way…" Asuka began. "Where exactly did you want to go look at?"

Kyle scratched his head. "Well for starters, I'd like to know if there's a place where we can ask for work and such."

"A place to find jobs?"

"Something like that…"

"Then I think I know the perfect place…"

Kyle started to follow the girl in the red dress as they went further down the street.

* * *

"Now then everyone, let's all greet our new friends!"

Kurousagi was making an announcement to all the members of the [No Names] (which more or less consisted of little children and three {currently two} "problem children"). Hikari, Ryo, and Cecillia were all standing in front of the other members, like some kind of presentation. Hikari gave a very bright smile, but the other two looked nervous as they glanced at the curious looks directed at them.

"This is Hikari, Ryo, and Cecilia. They are the newest members of our community, so make sure you all get along, ok?"

"Ok!" the children all clamored together as some of them even raised their fists.

"Well then, since we have just received some new members, let's all take a break for the rest of the day!"

Most of the children cheered while the others just sighed in relief. They all seemed tired from working hard the past few days, so a resting period was really welcome right now.

As the group of children started to spread out towards different areas of the building, Izayoi and Yo walked up to their new members.

"It's nice to finally see you guys join in…"Izayoi said as he offered his hand.

Ryo was about to give him a handshake, but Hikari suddenly jumped onto her brother and clung onto him tightly while smiling.

"Nii-sama!"

Izayoi chuckled as he helped Hikari drop gently on her feet.

"C'mon Hikari, you know that you need to be respectful around other people at least every once in a while…"

Hikari made a dejected look on her face. "Ok…"

She took a few steps back while puffing her cheeks, but Izayoi started rubbing her head.

"That's a good girl…"

Her face changed from one of annoyance to one of happiness as she started to brightly smile again. From an outside perspective, it seemed a lot like a master and his dog, but at the moment, nobody made a retort about that because a very uplifting atmosphere had suddenly filled the room.

"This is…"

Kurousagi started to feel a bit drunk from the euphoria as she slightly spread her arms out as if to bask in the feeling. Cecillia and Izayoi kept calm, but a small grin could be seen from the corner of their mouths. Yo and Ryo, who were completely new to the experience, were momentarily taken by surprise, but started to smile as they understood that it wasn't anything outwardly dangerous at the very least.

"Is this her ability?" Ryo asked Izayoi, who turned his head in response.

"Yeah, right now you're feeling the effects of what happens when she's truly happy. You know the phrase 'brimming with happiness'? Well in this case, it's happening literally."

"So this feeling we're getting…"

"Yeah, it's pretty much 'happiness' itself. Of course, the effects only last as long as she's in the right mood. When that feeling stops…"

He took his hand away from his sister's head, which made the edges of her mouth drop a bit as she felt disappointed. At the same time, the atmosphere around them seemed to be a bit heavier than before.

"It'll give you a bit of a withdrawal if you aren't used to it, but besides that, you'll be completely fine."

"Then this ability…"

"Yeah, in short it's more or less just therapeutic healing or meant for a bit of 'persuasion'."

He placed a hand from behind on her shoulder.

"Course I don't plan on letting you guys take advantage of this!"

He laughed heartily, but the look on his face had a serious tone to it, so nobody questioned how much of what he last said was true.

Kurousagi gave a slightly confused look as she watched the blond-haired boy laugh.

"_Now that I think about it, Izayoi-san hasn't been as childish or perverted as he usually is lately. Is it because Hikari is around?"_

She felt relieved to know that there was a way to at least tame this wild child a bit, but she also felt slightly disappointed that he was only so respectful around his blood relatives. "_If only he would act this way all the time…"_

_For someone who's apparently troublesome, you've been very observant about him. You have some kind of thing for him?_

Her face turned red as she started to recall her conversation with Kyle earlier. She started to shake her head as if to get rid of these unnecessary thoughts.

"No! There's nothing like that going on between us! Izayoi-san is just someone who's helping out the community! Of course…that's all it is…"

Her ears started to droop a bit as she felt disappointed. She lightly slapped herself on the face to bring her spirits up. After some rest, the feeling from Hikari's ability would disappear, and she'll return to normal. After all, she needed to get some paperwork done before their new members would be "officially" registered.

Unbeknownst to her, the aftereffects had worn off right after Izayoi started to laugh, almost immediately before she started to think about their relationship.

* * *

_**Author's note: Yeah, that time again.**_

_**So I've finally decided to put this up after getting my new game. Let me just say that I have NOT forgotten ANY of your characters, so rest assured.**_

_**Stuff happened besides my new game, I won't go into details or anything, but both good and bad things have happened recently, so I was having a bit of trouble finding time to work on this until now. I'm not exactly sure how everything works in the world of [Little Garden], so I'm just sort of trying to get by with the knowledge I do have from the anime and LN. Hopefully it's more or less accurate to what they've done.**_

_**Um...I guess there's nothing else I really need to say, but I will probably do this right now...**_

_**DISCLAIMER: THIS FANFICTION IS PURELY MEANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! THERE IS NO INTENTION OF MAKING MONEY OR ANY KIND OF EARNINGS OUTSIDE FROM THE AUTHOR'S PERMISSION.**_

_**So yeah, I've finally got that done, so that's it, and I'll try to get the next chapter up in the next couple of days or so.**_


	8. Thousand Eyes

"We're here!"

Kyle found himself standing in front of a building with a banner on each side of the entrance. The banners each had some kind of symbol on them that appeared to resemble two figures facing each other with something pointed up. A young woman with navy-blue hair, who seemed to resemble a dorm mother, was sweeping the ground near the entrance. As she looked up, she appeared to be frowning at the two of them. But when they started walking closer, she appeared to have focused most of her attention on Asuka, who simply smiled like nothing was wrong.

"What do you want?" She asked in a rude tone.

"I'm here to talk to Shiroyasha about something." Asuka casually replied.

"Shiroyasha-sama cannot talk to anyone right now, and even if she could, I would like to respectfully refuse the right to allow either of you to meet with her."

"Oh? But we are valued customers here."

"Yes, but you are also troublesome and, quite frankly, a distraction to Shiroyasha from her main duties. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if you ruin Shiroyasha's reputation for helping out [No Names] like you."

"That's not a very good way to treat customers…"

"You aren't customers at the moment, so I do not need to show any respect to people like you…"

Sparks flew between the two ladies as the air around them started to turn cold. Kyle was simply listening to the conversation, but with the "go away" attitude that this young woman appeared to be showing, it seems that she isn't exactly on friendly terms with the [No Names]. He sighed to himself as he decided to save some time.

"Excuse me…" he said to grab their attention. As the two of them turned to face him, he gently grabbed the young woman's hand while he spoke.

Asuka watched as Kyle casually talked with the shop clerk while keeping a straight face. He would occasionally smile while giving some kind of explanation, mixed along with some compliments and respectful comments. The shop clerk tried to stay calm and professional, but she noticed that the blue-haired women would be taken aback and occasionally blush from some of his comments. She took note that the boy in black appeared to be good with persuasion as the shop clerk gave a slight bow and went inside.

"Oh? So that's the kind of woman you're into?" Asuka asked as she gave a devilish smile.

Kyle turned his head towards Asuka while keeping a good-natured smile on his face.

"While she is beautiful, I just thought it would've saved us a lot of time to appeal to her since it seems your community caused some trouble for her in the past."

"Well it's true that we've been quite troublesome for her, but I don't think you needed to go that far since Shiroyasha would've probably let us in anyways."

"Regardless, I still wanted to show my respect to keep at least some trust between us. You would never know when something like this might come in handy"

"I see…"

Suddenly, the young woman returned.

"It seems Shiroyasha is willing to talk to the both of you." Her face was still a bit red, but she didn't seem to be as uncomfortable as before.

Kyle gave a respectful bow. "Thank you for your generosity."

After walking inside, the two of them followed the hallway as they began to hear a scream near the end.

"Shiroyasha you idiot!"

A figure started running out of the door in a very fast pace. The two of them sidestepped away while taking a quick glance at the figure, who appeared to be half-naked with some kind of maid uniform on.

"Wait a minute! I haven't finished with your costume yet!"

A smaller, younger-looking girl with pure white hair and a kimono-like attire had skidded from the doorway and started chasing after the other figure. Kyle was somewhat surprised by this turn of events, but he kept a straight face while turning to Asuka, who simply shook her head while holding her hands up. The white-haired young girl slowly returned with a disappointed look on her face, dragging her feet along while mumbling something inaudible.

"Um…Shiroyasha-san…" Asuka hesitantly spoke. Shiroyasha's face immediately brightened as she turned to see the young "ojou-sama" facing in her direction.

"My my, if it isn't Asuka of the [No Names]! What are you doing here?" she brought out a fan and started waving it with a smirk. "Could it be that you're here to model for me?!"

"That's not it!" Asuka denied wholeheartedly as her face went red. "I'm here because someone asked me to bring you here!"

"Yo!" Kyle raised his hand as he greeted the young loli, who turned to him with a curious look.

* * *

"I see, so you're one of the newest recruits for Kurousagi's community."

The three of them were sitting in a very classic-style Japanese room, complete with tatami mats, sliding paper doors, seat cushions, and a sort of makeshift shrine in the back using a scroll, flowers, and a small stone object that one would see in temples. Shiroyasha was sitting near the back while the other two were sitting on the opposite side. The smell of incense filled the air, along with some kind of faint sweet scent that lingered along, possibly because of the previous guest.

"And you said you want to take up odd jobs to earn extra money and benefits for your guild outside of [Gift Games]?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded. "I would like to get an idea of what the area is like, but I would prefer to learn while taking a job and earn something while doing so. I don't have any intention on playing in too many [Gift Games], so I would like to help out in other ways…"

"My, you seem much more serious than the other three children. Of course I don't understand what good that does for me." Her eyes began to steel. "You see, I've had Kurousagi ask me something very similar to this request back before any of you children came by. Of course, I was able to have her pay me back handsomely by dressing up in the many costumes I've given her, however…" She slammed the ground with her palms in a serious manner. "I DON'T HAVE ANY INTEREST IN SEEING GUYS IN DIFFERENT COSTUMES! ACTUALLY, I DON'T HAVE ANY INTEREST IN SEEING A GUY'S BODY PERIOD! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I FIND WORK FOR YOU AT ALL?!"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that more like indulging in your hobbies? I'm not sure how that really matters to how I can get some odd job here and there…"

"Ah, that's right. Sorry, I was a bit distracted there…" Shiroyasha gave a slight cough before continuing in a more calm tone. "The truth is that odd jobs and work that would earn you benefits are actually very rare in [Little Garden]. Very few communities are willing to ask for help from other guilds, and very little criminal activity openly occur, outside of the [Demon Lords], in which nothing can really be done about it."

"I see…" Kyle expected something like this to happen. [Gift Games] seems to be essentially the law in this world, so even "criminal activity" is considered "legal" as long as it's done through [Gift Games]. He remembered Kurousagi mentioned something about people "exploding" if they break rules or something like that, and it seems like "enforcers" are available nearby in each level, so upholding "peace" isn't really a problem either.

"Just a moment," Asuka spoke up. "Then how did the [No Names] get by before we came?"

Shiroyasha smiled. "Actually, Kurousagi was given the privilege of [Judge Master] from the start. She'd act as judge for many different kinds of [Gift Games] in exchange for an occasional fee and aid from yours truly."

"Then I assume it would be impossible for Kyle to take up a job as [Judge Master]?"

"Exactly. [Judge Master] is more of a 'chosen duty' instead of an assignment, and even then, very few actually follow up, or are even allowed to become one. In Kurousagi's case, she needed the money to support the community, so she didn't have much of a choice in the matter."

"I see…" Asuka was slightly crestfallen as she imagined how difficult things must have been for the [No Names] back then. "I didn't realize how troubling things must have been for everyone…"

"Well back to the original matter…" Shiroyasha turned to Kyle with a slight frown. "The point is that I can't really help you in this case. The only other way to earn benefits is to participate in [Gift Games] or sell us [Gifts] that you've collected."

Kyle just sat thinking for a moment before he started to stand up.

"I guess there's no other way then…" he bowed in front of the kimono loli. "Thank you for telling me this…" he turned to help Asuka up.

"It's fine…" Shiroyasha responded while waving her fan in an indifferent way. "Feel free to come by when you feel like you need some info or something. I don't mind as long as you manage to keep things interesting…"

After saying goodbye, the two of them left with Asuka leading Kyle back to their community.

"Well, I guess it wasn't very helpful to come here after all…" Asuka crossed her arms while pinching her forehead. "All we ended up doing was waste time…"

"I guess so…" Kyle rubbed the back of his neck while looking to the side.

* * *

After they left, Shiroyasha was staring at the spot that the boy named Kyle was sitting at just moments ago, grinning to herself.

"_So, the [No Names] have gotten several new members again. Perhaps this will help me alleviate more of my boredom…"_

"Shiroyasha-sama," She turned to see the young woman from the entrance standing in the hall. "It appears that there's someone else here to see you…"

"My my, so many visitors in such a short time?" She silently laughed to herself. "Very well, let them in…"


	9. The Elegant Miss and Dopplegangers

_**Author notes at bottom...**_

* * *

Cecillia, who had left the others while nobody was looking, was walking through one of the hallways in the mansion. She didn't want to go near anyone, especially Hikari and her ability, any longer than she needed too. It wasn't that the aftereffects were too strong for her, or that she hated the feeling of happiness. On the contrary, she enjoyed the uplifting feeling. However, she didn't want to be too happy because deep down, she was afraid. Afraid that getting close to someone, to allow someone else to understand her, to know her, would eventually turn on her and inflict lasting pain too deep to recover quickly. She closed her eyes as memories began to flash back in her mind…

_She was a little girl, about 4 or 5 years old. The other children would throw sticks and rocks at her, calling her names and swearing so openly. The adults would watch the scene, but they would simply ignore them or spit at the ground nearby before laughing. She was crying, she didn't know what she did wrong…_

_She was about 9 or 10 years old. She received her first hate mail. It was a piece of paper attached to a rock that was thrown into her window. After picking up the letter and reading it, she tossed the stone into the trash bin. She sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to be the end of it all…_

_15 to 17 years old. She was asked to meet up with some kind of peace corp to talk about living together in harmony or some crap. When she got there, it was nothing more than a building full of murderers and rapists. She quickly took care of them all, leaving them just barely alive. However, the townspeople complained about her actions and started to throw even more trash at her home. It was going to be another long day for her._

"Damnit, damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!"

She balled her hand into a fist and pounded the nearby wall. She sneered as her head dropped in place. Since her birth, nothing about her childhood was really considered "normal" in any sense. Her very existence was considered a mere curse, simply because her parents….no, she can't say that it was completely their fault. It was a forbidden relationship of course, but she couldn't blame them for that. If anything, she hated the people who discriminated her for being so different from them. She wasn't human, but even so, there didn't seem to be any reason to go as far as to call her a "cursed child".

You_'re not human…are you…._

She suddenly thought back to what that boy Kyle said. Aside from her anger, she thought it was strange that he knew she wasn't human from a mere glance. Her face changed to one of confusion as she wondered just who exactly Kyle was.

"Umm…"

Cecilia turned around to see a blonde young girl with fox ears and two fox tails standing nervously behind her. She silently took a few deep breaths to calm herself before speaking.

"What is it?"

"Um…I was supposed to show you where you would be sleeping from now on…" The young girl seemed very meek and nervous as she struggled to just look face-to-face with one of the newest member of their community. Cecilia just watched before bending down so that their eyes would meet on the same level, and gave a gentle smile.

"Thank you….?"

"L-Lily…"

"Lily. I'm glad that you're offering to help me to use to things around here." She started scratching behind the young fox's ears. "But you don't need to feel like you have to do this…"

"No!" she gently moved the elegant girl's hand while showing a bit more confidence than before. "It's something that I want to do! Helping everyone in the community by joining in the [Gift Games], helping us out with gardening and restoration, the least we all can do to repay all of you is to offer some assistance and help you feel more at home after you just came!"

Cecilia momentarily clenched her hand in frustration in response to the last part of the answer, but quickly relaxed her grip and continued to give a gentle smile to the young fox.

"Well then, I accept your offer." She brought both of her hands in front of her in a very lady-like way, and slowly followed Lily to the bedrooms.

As they were walking towards her assigned room, Cecilia asked Lily about how she and the other kids were feeling about the way they all lived.

"It's quite nice!" Lily began to reply with an honest smile. "We've managed to just barely get by with everyone pitching in. But ever since Kurousagi brought those other three here, things have gotten much easier for us all!"

"Hmm? How so?"

"Well, instead of fetching water, we have a steady source flowing from the water sapling we won from the water serpent…Asuka-san has won a giant servant that has been very useful with replanting the garden…We've managed to defeat a couple of [Demon Lords]…Ah yes, and we've also recovered our good friend, Leticia-sama!"

"Lily…"

The two of them turned to see a young blond-haired girl wearing a large dark-colored ribbon and a frilly maid dress standing with an emotionless face. Despite the faint and uneasy vibe she was giving off, as well as the somewhat stern look she appeared to be showing, her loli-isque appearance gave her the appearance of a life sized china doll. Cecilia was surprised and slightly tempted to poke at the young girl, but she kept herself in control and gave a confused look instead.

"Ah! Leticia-sama!" The young fox cried as she ran up to the young maid and grasped her hands with her own. "Did you hear about the newest members in our community?"

"Yes…" the maid replied in a near emotionless-tone. She shifted her eyes over to Cecilia, who scrunched her eyebrows a bit as if to say "what are **you** looking at?"

"Kurousagi had informed me about this a few minutes ago. I wanted to see them myself in order to distinguish their appearance from outsiders, so I am visiting each of their rooms."

"I see," Lily sighed. "Then why don't you come join us?"

"Eh?"

"I was going to show Cecilia-san the way to her bedroom, so it might be better if we all went together at the same time!"

Cecilia was starting to feel uncomfortable with the current situation. She didn't have anything against Leticia, but she wasn't really comfortable with staying around someone else she just met any longer than she needed to. She was going to point this out when…

"What do you think? Master?"

Leticia was asking Cecilia directly as she started into her face. Cecilia was momentarily shocked, she turned to Lily, who was looking at her expectantly with a cute serious-looking face. It seems like there was no helping it…

"I-I guess it's…fine…" Cecilia replied as she shifted her head toward the side.

"Yay!"

Lily gave a small jump of happiness as she clutched Leticia's hand and started to pull her over through the hallway. Cecilia watched for a few moments before putting her hand over her face in exasperation.

"_I think I'm going straight to bed after this…"_

* * *

Ryo suddenly brought his head up and looked around. He was sitting in a chair and his head seemed to have been resting on the table in front of him. Unconsciously wiping his mouth, he saw a grand, yet unfamiliar scene of large glass windows that revealed a large forest outside. The room he was in appeared to be a somewhat fancy dining room, or the kind of room that people might use for large gatherings. However, the first thing that came to his mind was that he wasn't at home.

"Oh right…" he blinked a few times before he suddenly remembered the event from earlier. "This is that [Little Garden] place…"

He looked up through the glass windows to see a deep dark blue with white dots covering the sky. It looked like the night sky, so he must have been out for no more than a couple hours. He doesn't usually feel this exhausted after using his trick just once, but with all the excitement from his discovery, he must have used up more energy than he expected. That, and the fact that he was admittedly wasn't the most physical person he knew, meant that he needed to make better judgments from now on.

Yes, his [Gift], as they called it. It was something he decided to call [Doppelganger], since his "copies" were essentially the same as him. People seem to assume that making a doppelganger is always like taking numbers and splitting them into two equal numbers (like taking the number 100 and splitting it into two 50s). But actually, it's nothing more than just taking the number 100, and copying it onto another space (Like copy-paste on a document). However, this trick had another secret to it.

[Doppelganger] allows Ryo to just slightly modify his "copies" enough to differentiate them from the original (or even each other) if he chose. To do so however, he would need to compensate the gain by lowering something else. (Even if you have two 100s, it does not mean that they must both be formed by 2 50s. It can also be formed by a 70 and a 30, or even just a 1 and a 99).

So to summarize…

[Doppelganger] makes the perfect copy (or at the very least, uses the original as a blueprint)

If the "copy" was to increase one skill, it must decrease another.

Yes, that was how [Doppelganger] worked, and that was all he could do…..or so he originally thought. He didn't think much about it before, but ever since he came to [Little Garden], he felt like something was stuck in his chest. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it was like something was trying to escape into the open. Was it another [Gift]? Or was something about him changing suddenly? He would be lying if he said he didn't feel uncomfortable about this, but at the same time, he was secretly excited about this new development.

"Well, looks like coming here was the right idea…"

He silently chuckled to himself as he stared out the window. His body grew with anticipation as he eagerly waited for morning to arrive.

"_But first…"_ he thought to himself. _"I should probably take a bath…"_

* * *

**_Author's note: So here we come once again..._**

**_First, an explanation for 2 different chapters in one day (to anyone who really cares that much). At first, I wanted this chapter and the chapter before to be one large chapter. But as I thought through this, I decided "It's too much to try and make sense of how everythin works together, so I'm just gonna take the easier path..." And thus, we've got two chapters instead of one._**

**_Second, I want to ask people to let me know if I've used Ryo and Cecilia in the right way, or if something was off. If so, let me know, and I'll do my best to try and correct things._**

**_Anyways, that's all I gotta say. I'm gonna upload the next chapter in a couple days or sooner, so until then, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and be sure to review about ANYTHING you feel like._**


	10. Morning Troubles

_**This one may seem a bit rushed and short, but I wanted to focus on an amusing morning. Anyways, here's the next chapter...**_

* * *

Kurousagi had stretched her arms out as she started to rise from her bed. She was wearing a pink nightgown into bed last night, and she was worried about whether it was starting to get smaller for her (Especially around the chest area, which seems to be getting tighter). Taking a glance in the large mirror that was propped in the corner of her room, she turned to check for anything that seemed off before changing into the usual clothing Shiroyasha gave her. At first, she wasn't really comfortable with wearing it everywhere she went, even if Shiroyasha imbued it with the [Gift] to "almost see underneath, but not quite", but she eventually got used to it, knowing that things could've been worse, and the 30% increase in her income was too good to pass up.

After checking to make sure everything was in place, she nodded to herself and left to go wake up the problem children.

She decided to make her first stop in front of Asuka's room. She didn't hear anything about their return last night, and she was starting to get worried. She knocked on the door while calling out to the young "ojou-sama".

"Asuka-san? Are you in there?"

She put her ear next to the door and tried to listen for some kind of movement. A shuffling was heard before a sudden moan came from further inside.

"Yes…"

She sighed in relief. "Asuka-san, please come to the meeting room quickly. Master Jin wants to tell us all something."

"…O…k…" she heard a yawn before some more shuffling from inside.

She sighed before turning around to check on Yo's room. Likewise, she knocked on the door and called out to Yo. Yo had quickly opened the door to answer.

"Yo-san, please come to the meeting room. Master Jin wishes to tell us all something."

"K" Yo replied before going back to the bed to play with Calico cat, who was stretching with his stomach facing the ceiling.

Next was Cecilia, who was located a few doors away from Yo. Once again, she knocked on the door to check on the young maiden. However, there was no response. Kurousagi knocked a few more times, but there was still no answer. Twisting the knob, she found that it was open, so she looked inside to find Cecilia still in bed under a deep sleep. She thought about waking her up, but recalling the anger she saw yesterday, and considering the danger of having a grumpy problem child, she thought it would have been better to leave a note and hope that she would wake up by herself soon.

Finally, she tried Hikari, but she didn't get any kind of reply at all. Likewise, she started checking inside, but she saw that Hikari was nowhere to be found, so she assumed that the young girl must have wandered off somewhere nearby.

"_Well, Hikari-chan will probably be fine…"_

Next were the guys, starting with Ryo. She knocked on the door to his room while calling his name.

"Ryo-san!"

The door opened, and she saw that it was Ryo, all-dressed and wide awake. He bowed his head as he greeted Kurousagi.

"Good morning…"

"Good morning Ryo-san, are you all set?"

Ryo gave a small laugh. "I'm afraid Ryo hasn't woken up quite yet…"

"I see…eh?" Kurousagi tilted her head. "Then, who are…"

"Ah, pardon me…" Ryo(?) said apologetically. "I had meant the 'original' Ryo was not awake yet. I am simply a 'copy' of the original Ryo, meant to wake him up." The "copy" had opened the door further to show the "original" under the sheets and sleeping. Kurousagi sighed as she wondered if everyone new was going to be sleeping in like this.

"Then, please tell Ryo-san to go to the meeting room after he's done…"

"Very well…" The copy gave a graceful bow before closing the door.

She decided to check in Kyle's room afterwards, but like Hikari, Kyle was nowhere to be found, so she ended up making her last stop to Izayoi's room. She knocked on the door a couple of times, but nobody answered. She hesitantly turned the knob on the door and looked inside.

Maybe it was the discovery that the room was cleaner than she expected for someone like Izayoi, or maybe it was the fact that the temperature felt warmer inside, but she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She looked around to see that very little was out of place in this room. He didn't leave any garbage or anything dirty around anywhere at all. She turned to the bed to see Izayoi sleeping peacefully, half- covered by the blanket. She felt something clench in her heart slightly as she looked closer. His face was much more peaceful than how it usually seemed. If it wasn't for his destructive impulses and spiteful personality, she might have mistaken him as a normal boy. She slowly started to reach out to gently wake him up, when she suddenly noticed some kind of strange bulge in the blankets. She moved the blankets to see what the bulge was before wordlessly making a shocked face.

Hikari was trying to curl up like a ball while clinging onto the side of Izayoi's torso. She was sleeping with a peaceful face, like someone who found the softest bed ever made (times 10) and just had one of the best dreams anyone could ask for. Hikari was in the yellow pajamas she received earlier as a small gift, so she must have left her room at some point of the evening and snuck into Izayoi's bed to sleep instead. However, Kurousagi didn't seem to care much about that as what suddenly struck her mind.

"No way, Izayoi-san has **those **kinds of interests?" she said to herself as she took a couple steps back. Her face was a contorted mixture of shock and anger as she suddenly brought a paper fan seemingly out of nowhere. Izayoi suddenly yawned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. He turned to see Kurousagi standing nearby with her hair a bright pink and a fierce aura surrounding her.

"Oi Kurousagi, it's pretty rude to just enter someone's room without permission…"

"Heh heh heh…Kurousagi wonders…can Izayoi-san really say that with Hikari-chan next to him like that?"

Izayoi turned to see Hikari nearby. "Oh, she did it again. It was like this back home too…" he scratched his head. "Guess I better explain this…" he turned his head back to Kurousagi, just in time to see her raise the paper fan before bringing it down with incredible force.

"YOU PERVERTED LOLICON!"

* * *

"What was that?"

Lily, Jin, Leticia, and Kyle were in the meeting room with a few of the other children, who were helping set the table for the "problem children", Jin, and Kurousagi. There was a loud *SMACK* that echoed which made Lily and Jin turn around towards the source.

"Don't worry about it," Leticia said with an expressionless face. "Master and the others will arrive soon, so we should prepare a sort of plan on how to expand our community."

"I guess you're right…" Jin replied half-heartedly. He was still worried, but he decided to follow the ex-[Demon Lord]'s advice, and turned back to the dark-clothed boy who was calmly drinking a cup of tea. "So, you said you were Kyle, right?"

"I guess…" Kyle replied in a dull tone.

"That's not your real name?"

"If you'd rather call me something else…"

"No." he sighed exhaustedly. "What about your [Gift]? Can you tell us what it is?"

"It's the power of a god…"

"Really?!"

"No, that was a lie…"

Jin was starting to get annoyed by these answers. No matter how many times he asked, this Kyle wouldn't give him a simple, straightforward answer. He thought he needed to set up some kind of plan to balance [Gift Games] and restoration, but he couldn't do that without knowledge of everyone's abilities and limits. He slammed the table in frustration.

"Are you seriously here to help us in the community or not?!"

Kyle placed the empty cup down before turning his head over to Jin.

"I'm just here to kill time. If you don't trust me, then just keep me close. Otherwise I better just leave…"

Jin started to sit down. "N-No…I…" there was a hint of panic in his voice while Kyle chuckled to himself.

"Just a joke. I won't say anything, but you'll learn about my [Gift] soon enough…"

The door suddenly opened, making the other three turn around to see who it was. Kurousagi was walking in exhaustedly, followed by Izayoi, who was wearing an amused face, Hikari, who came in without clinging to her brother (but was still a bit closer than the average person would stand), Cecilia and Ryo, who each still seemed to be half-asleep, Yo, who simply carried Calico cat in her arms, and finally Asuka, who seemed somewhat excited.

"Umm…Is there something wrong?" Jin asked as he saw Kurousagi slump into her chair looking completely exhausted.

"No…" She said in a tired voice. "Just go tell everyone what Jin's plan is…"

"R-Right…" Jin gave a small cough before standing up.

"Well then everyone, thank you for joining us all in the community [No Names]. I'm sure that you're all finally rested after getting a good night's sleep in your rooms. Now, do you all know about the condition of our community at the moment?"

Everyone present had either nodded or gave a small "yes" in acknowledgement.

"Then you all understand what we're also trying to do as our second goal?"

Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo grinned and/or nodded while the rest of the problem children either shook their heads or kept quiet.

"Our goal is to make defeat all [Demon Lords] that challenges us, or anyone we know." Jin's face seemed to look a bit more mature as he slightly gripped the table. "I don't want any other communities to suffer what we've been through. If we can help out in anyway, I'd like to offer my hand to everyone in need. That's why; I want to make sure that we can trust everyone of you to work hard when the time comes…"

There was a moment of silence as nobody moved an inch. Then, the newcomers each gave a small grin as they each turned to Jin.

"I don't care much about what happens," Hikari said. "As long as Nii-sama's around, I'll be willing to do anything!"

"I'm just happy to be here!" Ryo exclaimed. "If you're offering me something else that'll be new and exciting, then count me in!"

Cecilia nodded. "Sure…" she said softly.

Kyle smirked as he closed his eyes.

Jin started to relax his shoulders as he sat back down. "Thank you everyone…" he gave everyone a quick look before crossing his arms. "Now for the first order of business…"

"YA-HO, USA-CHAN!"

Everyone turned around as the doors at the entrance suddenly slammed open to reveal a young girl with pure white hair, cat-like ears, and a cat-like tail, as well as a maid costume, making a very dramatic entrance. The cat-girl seemed to have just noticed the others as she blinked a couple times before turning to Kurousagi.

"Huh? What's going on?"

* * *

_**Author's note: I'll try to keep things short this time.**_

_**So we've got the next character introduced, and I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter.**_

_**Please review what you thought about this chapter, and hope you found it entertaining.**_


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